Holiday shoppers and collectors can discover work by emerging artists as well as find collectibles from leading artists in their respective fields. Visitors can talk one-on-one with the artists about their work while enjoying the market's lively atmosphere and supporting the local economy.

The market, sponsored by the MICA Alumni Association, fosters student professional development and peer-to-peer networking, and provides funding for need-based student scholarships. Last year scholarships of $2,500 each were awarded to three MICA students who had participated in the event: Sarah Machicado '12 (illustration and graphic design), Nisha Ramnath '10 (animation) and Michele Stidham '10 (graphic design).

Vendors will accept the following forms of payment: Visa, MasterCard, cash and check. Admission to the market is free.

For information regarding vendors, visit the MICA Web site here or e-mail artmarket@mica.edu. For general visitor information, call 410-225-2300.

About some of the artists

Nisha Ramnath '10 knits unique stuffed animals, gloves and purses. Through both her knitting and animation work, she hopes to enrich the life of the owner or viewer. Last spring Ramnath donated a pair of knitted albino penguins, Albee and Albina, for the Art 4 Hope traveling exhibition benefiting the children's wing of Johns Hopkins Hospital.

MICA staff member Alisha Green makes earrings, necklaces and pendants out of Plexiglas, vintage and thrifted beads, bottle caps, magazine clippings and found objects. Much of her influence comes from her grandmother's costume jewelry collection that she played dress-up with as a little girl and from her mother's best friend, who never shied away from statement pieces, mixing diamond rings with bracelets made of plastic baby doll arms.

"I love being able to give discarded items new lives as jewelry," Green said. "It's important to me to keep my pieces inexpensive and wearable by artists and non-art folk alike."

Growing up in the country, recent alumna Christiane Moore '09 (printmaking) developed a fondness for barn cats that evolved as she moved to the city and discovered window cats that gaze at passer-bys. From this inspiration, Moore creates cheerful artwork with her Window Cats series of hand-printed, double-sided, multi-layer screen prints on static-cling vinyl window decals.

Founded in 1826, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is the oldest continuously degree-granting college of art and design in the nation. The College enrolls nearly 3,500 undergraduate, graduate and continuing studies students from 49 states and 65 countries in fine arts, design, electronic media, art education, liberal arts, and professional studies degree and non-credit programs. With art and design programs ranked in the top ten by U.S. News and World Report, MICA is pioneering interdisciplinary approaches to innovation, research, and community and social engagement. Alumni and programming reach around the globe, even as MICA remains a cultural cornerstone in the Baltimore/Washington region, hosting hundreds of exhibitions and events annually by students, faculty and other established artists.